Susan Campbell Bartoletti traces the history of the Ku Klux Klan, from its inception in 1866 as an outgrowth of a conversation among six disgruntled Confederate veterans, through the Reconstruction Era, and up to the present day. Using a combination of scholarly histories, white supremacist writings, and primary sources such as attendance at a Klan Congress, Bartoletti offers an insightful examination of a controversial organization. Initially a social club known for its drunken and sophomoric antics, the Ku Klux Klan quickly evolved into a powerful and political force exerting immense control over southern populations, both Black and white. While Bartoletti focuses primarily on the KKK during the time of Reconstruction and the peak of its power and influence during the nineteenth century, she also speaks to the lasting impact of terror used as a weapon and the ongoing efforts of the Klan in contemporary times. Detailed source notes, quote attributions, a Civil Rights Time Line, and archival photographs and illustrations support the compelling text. (Age 13 and older)

Boys, let us get up a club.With those words, six restless young men raided the linens at a friend’s mansion, pulled pillowcases over their heads, hopped on horses, and cavorted through the streets of Pulaski, Tennessee in 1866. The six friends named their club the Ku Klux Klan, and, all too quickly, their club grew into the self-proclaimed Invisible Empire with secret dens spread across the South.This is the story of how a secret terrorist group took root in America’s democracy. Filled with chilling and vivid personal accounts unearthed from oral histories, congressional documents, and diaries, this account from Newbery Honor-winning author Susan Campbell Bartoletti is a book to read and remember. A YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalist.